This much I know: Ingrid Craigie

Saturday, April 28, 2012

I became an actor for one reason — because I loved it.

I stayed the course because I realised that the arts are vital and that they can, and do, change us and expand our understanding and compassion.

Every generation of actors says that theatre is dead. But I’ve gone through several generations at this stage, if you take a generation as being 10 years.

There was no history of acting in my family. My drama teacher Nora Lever was the first person to suggest to me that I could be an actor. Up until that point I hadn’t even realised it was an option.

When I left school, there were no drama schools in Dublin. I went to Trinity to read English, with a plan to get into acting through the student group ‘Players’. Luckily, the plan worked. Student drama societies were treated a bit like fringe theatres at the time. Joe Dowling saw me in a few productions and not long after that I got my first proper contract with the Abbey.

Actors need incredible emotional, physical and mental stamina. They need to be resilient and vulnerable; open to possibility at all times and yet tough enough to take the inevitable disappointments and rejections.

The best advice I could give aspiring actors is to follow the path because you love it — not because you think it will make you famous — and consider whether you could cope with the uncertainly that accompanies the career.

I don’t read reviews. I try to concentrate on the work itself and on staying as grounded as possible. I don’t find it helpful to get caught up in what other people think — be it negative or positive.

Brian Friel’s Faith Healer has been my favourite play ever since I first saw it when I was very young, with the unforgettable Donal McCann. It was quite a radical play back then, with its four monologues telling an extremely complex story of how we all perceive our own versions of the truth. I saw it three times in a row and came out shaking each time, I was so moved. I felt that it was a play that I would be able to do and, when I finally got the chance, it lived up to my expectations.

The best advice I ever heard was to ‘walk on the earth as if it is covered with gold leaf’. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could all approach work and life like that. I got that from my friend the actor Pat Laffan who is forever quoting wonderful sayings and aphorisms.

I don’t believe in fate. I prefer to think that we are free to make choices and responsible for our actions. Although we do have an unfortunate tendency to repeat patterns.

I’ve just started in a new play The House Keeper. As soon as I read it I knew I wanted to do it. That happens sometimes with a new piece — you just know it’s going to work. It’s a darkly funny psychological thriller, set in New York, about inheritance and possession and the things we do when we are pushed to our limits.

One thing that really saddens me about Irish society at the moment is the disparity between the highest and lowest paid citizens. How did that happen?

The best creative work is done in a collaborative atmosphere. I love the feeling of support and the sense of security and confidence which that brings. If you work with people who undermine you or bully you, you are always working against them.

So far, life has taught me that no matter how tough and challenging and sad it can be at times — it’s still worth it.

* Ingrid Craigie is appearing in her new play The House Keeper at the Project Arts Centre, Dublin, until May 12. Home